Rams News

ST. LOUIS RAMS

August 5, 1998

Thank goodness it was just a scrimmage.

The St. Louis Rams have five weeks to break the bad habits -- mostly penalties and turnovers -- that surfaced once again during a scrimmage with the Indianapolis Colts at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium.

The scoreboard read 0-0 after the scrimmage, but if you add up the touchdowns scored, the Colts beat the Rams 35-14.

"It's kind of sad that we finished up like this because we kind of dominated them the two days prior to this," said Rams quarterback Tony Banks, whose team concluded a three-day joint practice session with the Colts. "We had some good things and some bad things happen today."

The bad things were all too familiar for a team that led the NFL in penalties with 142 last season.

The Rams had five penalties (three holding calls and two false start calls) and three turnovers (two interceptions and a fumble) in approximately 30 offensive plays.

"We've got a lot of things to smooth out," Rams coach Dick Vermeil said. "I'm sure when we look at the tapes there will be a lost of positive things."

Banks was intercepted twice, but neither one was totally his fault. Running back June Henley ran the wrong route on the first interception and wide receiver Eddie Kennison let the ball deflect off his shoulder pads on the second.

"He has thrown only one interception in all of practice during training camp so far," Vermeil said of Banks. "I'm not really too concerned about it."

Neither team actually scored a touchdown off a drive.

The Rams got their touchdowns -- a 20-yard pass from Will Furrer to tight end Aaron Laing and a 3-yard pass from Kurt Warner to tight end Tyji Armstrong -- in a red-zone drill where the team started on its opponents' 20-yard line and a goal-line drill where the team started on its opponents' 3-yard line.

Other bright spots for the Rams included:

--Rookie running back Raymond Priester gaining 36 yards on 10 carries.

--Defensive end Kevin Carter getting a sack and then blocking a field goal on back-to-back plays.

--Rookie linebacker Leonard Little blasting through the offensive line untouched to sack the quarterback.

--The offense converting three of four short-yardage (third-and-1) plays with June Henley and Priester running the ball.

Priester, who is working with Derrick Harris at fullback/H-back, was pressed into service at running back because of injuries. Projected starter Jerald Moore has a bruised shoulder, while backup Robert Holcombe has a strained hamstring and backup David Thompson has a bruised thigh.

Wide receiver Isaac Bruce participated in only play. He caught a 14-yard pass on the first play of the scrimmage and then retired to the sideline.

The Rams' first-string offense had only 15 snaps. Banks would have preferred more.

"Any time you have some bad plays, you want to redeem yourself, and I don't think we had a chance to do that," Banks said.

Jim Mora could be coaching the Rams instead of the Indianapolis Colts.

Rams president John Shaw was reportedly close to hiring Mora for the team's vacant head coaching position two years ago before Vermeil tossed his hat into the ring at the last minute.

"I thought I had a shot, a pretty good shot," Mora said. "He never told me I had it. He never told me I didn't have it either."

Mora said Shaw never contacted him to tell him that he wasn't hired.

"I found out from Dick," Mora said. "Dick Vermeil called me and told me he got the job."

Mora still harbors some bad feelings toward Shaw.

"I thought it was awful, to be honest with you," Mora said. "I don't think they ought to conduct business that way."

Vermeil and Mora have known each other since they were both assistant coaches under John Ralston at Stanford in 1967. Rams assistant head coach Mike White also was a member of that coaching staff.

Mora tried broadcasting during his year out of coaching. But first he called Vermeil, who spent 14 years as television analyst, for advice.

"He was a heck of a lot better than I was," Mora said. "He helped me. I talked to him a lot before I did it. I got a lot of tips from him. He sent me a bunch of notes -- what to do, what not to do."

--The Rams like the idea of having 6-7, 315-pound Fred Miller playing next to 6-7, 320-pound Orlando Pace on the left side of the offensive line.

"Boy, they tilt the field over there," Vermeil said. "We should be able to run the ball to the left side this year."

Miller has been moved from right tackle to left guard in the wake of Ed Simmons, who was projected as the starting left guard, retiring the day before the start of training camp. Miller's experience at guard coming into this season consisted of one practice last season and one game during his rookie season in 1996.

"I'm very pleased with --as big as he is, how high-cut he is -- how well he is taking over the guard position," Vermeil said of Miller.

--Furrer will start one of the Rams' preseason games, probably against San Diego or Dallas.

Furrer, who hasn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since 1995 with the Houston Oilers, is battling veteran Steve Bono and newcomer Kurt Warner for one of the two backup jobs behind Banks.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Guys like Jerald Moore, they start falling out of the picture. They have to get on the field. They can't afford to miss too many reps. This has been his `MO,' his so-called problem for a long time." -- Rams coach Dick Vermeil, who is obviously losing patience with the injury-prone Moore.

The Rams signed former Kansas City running back Greg Hill to bolster their depleted running backs corps.

Hill made a visit to St. Louis in early March and was offered a contract, but he and his agent, Carl Poston, turned it down.

Hill gained 2,438 yards in four seasons with the Chiefs. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry, but never carried more than 157 times or gained more than 667 yards in a season.

The Rams released cornerback Derrick Frazier, a former teammate of Hill at Texas A&M, to make room on their 80-man roster.

The Rams brought in former Minnesota running back James Stewart for a tryout. Stewart hasn't played in an NFL game since his rookie season in 1995.

Vermeil also might be interested in former NFL running back Vaughn Dunbar, who contacted the Rams' coach during his weekly call-in radio show. Vermeil took down Dunbar's telephone number.

BATTLE OF THE WEEK: Dexter McCleon vs. Taje Allen vs. Willie Clark for starting RCB. McCleon and Allen strengthened their positions as the No. 1 and No. 2 guys in the absence of Ryan McNeil, who is continuing his contract holdout. Clark was burned deep repeatedly during the Rams' three days of practices with the Colts.

OTHER BATTLE FRONTS: Eddie Kennison vs. Ricky Proehl for No. 2 wide receiver. Kennison lost some ground after dropping two passes during the scrimmage. Proehl has been steady but not flashy in practice.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: LT Orlando Pace, who gave the Colts' Dan Footman fits for three days. Pace deposited Footman on his back on the Rams' first running play during their scrimmage against the Colts.

"I saw Orlando pancake a guy on our first run," Vermeil said. "He just absolutely knocked him right over on his back."

Footman is no creampuff. He led the Colts with 10.5 sacks last season.

ROOKIE REPORT: RB Raymond Priester ran well during the scrimmage even though he was playing feature back, not fullback/H-back, where he'll be once the season starts. Priester might not have great speed (4.9 seconds in the 40), but he is powerful and has good instincts. Priester must learn to block -- something he was seldom asked to do at Clemson -- to help the Rams this season.

INJURY REPORT: The Rams had 15 players sitting out practice late last week, but most of those injuries aren't serious.

The most worrisome are RB Robert Holcombe's ailing hamstring and RB Jerald Moore's ailing shoulder. Holcombe had his homecoming to the University of Illinois spoiled after hurting his hamstring on the first day of practice. Moore could lose his starting job if he misses much more practice time due to a bruised shoulder. Moore dressed for several practices last week, but never participated.

DE Glenn Young, Jr., a rookie free agent, will miss three to four weeks of practice due to a hamstring injury. S Toby Wright is still limited to one practice a day as he tries to come back from major knee surgery. S Gerald McBurrows has returned after a bout with the chicken pox.

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